I Am: So Full.

I really am so full. Full of good food prepared at home, which didn't take long. I revisited roasting brussel sprouts this evening and guess what? They came out scrumptiously.

Not only am I full from eating, but I'm also full of hopeful thoughts and possibilities. I enjoyed a relaxing day at home with my youngest daughter who's fighting a cold. I'm so grateful for having the freedom to fulfill where necessary being able to stay home and nurse my child back to wellness.

I'm so full of FAITH. Those closest to me would agree based upon many decisions I've made in my life. I feel a deep sense of knowing, that all "things" through my trust in GOD will be just fine.

So much possibility and potential remains. Hope fills my soul. I feel so wonderfully full! :)

Wednesday Waste. Not.

I'm so very proud of the macaroni salad that I made this week. Last week I baked macaroni and cheese as a side for our supper, but I boiled too many noodles. I decided to save them for "something" later during the week.

Last Friday for an early lunch I went to a "Signature Ralph's" grocery store. The buffet station was freshly prepared and the pasta looked so tasty. I enjoyed the crab salad and rotini pasta, but while I did, I thought quietly... I can make this easily at home.

When I opened the refrigerator on Monday morning the first "thing" I saw was those extra elbow noodles from last week. My first thought was to trash "it," but I remembered how good the pasta from Ralph's tasted. Yes. I tossed those noodles all right... with a few other key ingredients and made a delicious macaroni salad.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with those old noodles. Laughing out loud. I prepared two different dishes, which served one simple purpose: Healthy nourishment for my family on two separate occasions! 

I am striving to make the most of "everything!" 

We Beat! The Rain.

We went grocery shopping today. As usual, I purchased a whole lot more than planned. As I was putting groceries into the car "it" began to sprinkle. I told my children that we needed to get home before the predicted storm arrived...

I hadn't planned on getting "everything." Although, I didn't resist filling the grocery basket to full capacity nor did I reject many of my daughters special requests. We all got most of what we wanted.


A funny "thing" occurred after we put everything away once we got home. I was in my room thinking about what I wanted to include within today's blog. It had "to do" with an obstacle my family overcame a few years ago.

I remember when I used to buy a bag of ice everyday for months. I needed it to refill the ice chest that we were using as a refrigerator in our previous residence when we first moved in. We did have a compact fridge, but it could only hold about 1 gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon of orange juice, 1 carton of eggs, a small package of cheese, and whatever else I could squeeze inside without keeping the door from closing completely.

We still had everything that we needed regardless. It was quite inconvenient not having a full-sized refrigerator, but we made "it" work. Just being able was enough and still is.

When I came out of my room my eldest daughter asked me if I remembered when we had that ice chest. I laughed and asked her why did she ask me "that" because I literally, was reminiscing about the very same "thing" just seconds before. We were both tickled at thought, but Holy wow!!! I almost couldn't believe "it."

I don't know what triggered my daughter's recollection. I was simply thinking about how grateful I am for where we are today. The refrigerator we have now is big and was bought new. It holds everything extra. We no longer buy bags of ice because we have ice trays and can make our own at our leisure. We even got home and unloaded all the groceries from the car without getting soaked.

I THANK GOD!!! HE continues to make us more able...

Valentine's Day. Blues.

I can't stand Valentine's Day. There aren't many Valentine's Days that stick out as being memorable or special in any way to me. I've received cards, flowers and "things" on LOVEs-day so what's my problem?

I'm not and haven't been in a serious intimate relationship for quite some time for starters. Secondly, I can't say that I currently share a mutual significant "anything" with anyone special. Perhaps, not being the special lady to someone or having someone who I deem as being special to me; is the underlying reason for my dislike towards Valentine's Day.

Until then, I think that I wont ever like/appreciate Valentine's Day for what "it" is. The vendors: My goodness they make my eyes hurt seeing nearly every corner occupied with their various gifts for sale. I'm almost sure they'll be out selling all "this" week, over the weekend, and probably a day or two after Valentine's Day is over...

I decided to blog about it today because I'm sure I'll be onto "something" more interesting when LOVEs-day gets here. Aside from that, I surely don't want to be responsible for dampening anyones happy/loving feelings about Valentine's Day. Especially not on the day of, or even the week during... Getting "it" off my chest now! 

Kiss "it" cupid! Your aim has been way off one time too many. I know: GOD LOVES me!!!

24/7+365/1(absolutely)-(conditions)=Eternal LOVE

HIS LOVE outweighs/outlasts ALL!!!

As I. Was Saying...

After moving from Lancaster back home to the "big city" another cousin and I became roomates. We lived in Hawthorne, California in 1997. We shared a 2-bedroom, 2 bath apartment until I convinced her to move with me to Lawndale later that year.

We moved into a two-story townhouse that my GODsister rented to us. My cousin was right. We were fine living Hawthorne.

I found out that I was pregnant with my eldest daughter while living in Lawndale. My daughter came home from the hospital to her grandmother's house, which is where I lived during the last trimester of my pregnacy. It felt like we were going to be there forever...

An opportunity to regain my indepence came along. My friend's aunt had an extra bedroom and needed someone to be there in the home nightly. Her place wasn't too far from my mother's home and I was more than glad to accept the offer. We lived there for almost 1-year.

I finally got my own place as a mother. It was a 2-bedroom, 1 bath lower unit duplex in beautiful Altadena, California, just below the mountains. I loved "it" there, but between school and work, we were hardly home together to enjoy our peaceful abode.

In 2005, I found out that I was pregnant with my second child. I moved back home with my mother in Los Angeles to regroup for a short while. By my second trimester of this pregnancy my daughter and I had moved in with my bestfriend and her family in Inglewood. THANK GOD!!! Nearing my third trimester, I was approved to move into a 1 1/2 bedroom apartment in Downtown, Los Angeles, where my youngest daughter came home from the hospital to. It was a 1 1/2 bedroom apartment. The layout was weird. Laughing to myself...

We had a 6-month lease for the apartment downtown. When it ended all 3 of us moved back home with my mother again to regroup for a short while. THANK GOD!!! We only lived there for about 2-months when I got an approval to move into a 2-bedroom, 1 bath 4-plex near the Slauson Swapmeet in Los Angeles.

I made a desparate move into that place. The first time I saw the inside of the apartment was when I brought the landlord the move-in money. Shame on me for "that" one! I will admit, that I really moved too fast making "that" decision.

After nearly 8-months living there... I reached my limit. I accepted an offer to move-in with my playbrother. He was so kind to allow us to invade his space for 6-months. From there we moved in with my bff and her family again for just a few weeks until I was approved to move into a single with my daughters in Midtown, L.A. I remember the exact date that we moved there: Nov. 5, 2007.

On Feb. 1st 2011 we got the keys to where we live now!!! THANK GOD!!! YES.

So. It's Leap Year!

Yesterday, marks the first day in my blog history where I missed publishing one of my daily (weekday) posts. Of all days, this happened on a Wednesday. Oh my goodness, right? Well, it's okay considering there's one extra day this month I suppose. I'll still have 5 published posts for this week.

Facing the fact that I've missed a day this week isn't as bad as I imagined. I thought if "this" occurred, that I'd feel very disappointed in myself. Why did I think that?

Perhaps, it's because I've grown high expectations with my commitment to writing "this" blog. I have to remember to give myself credit when I've earned "it." My blogging efforts were not in vain yesterday and "I can" probably use another day to finish expressing what I began for Wednesday's blog.

So, I'm over "it." I am not in control of all "things." GOD IS!!! 

Going on with my day today. LORD willing, I'll continue with yesterday's story on tomorrow. I'm glad that I'm not feeling guilty about the mishap. "I can" now move forward comfortably as I should. Moving right along!

I THANK GOD for yesterday and today, but can only pray that I'm blessed with tomorrow!!!

One Year Later...

Today marks our 1-year Anniversary living where we reside now. Wow, how the time has flown. I kind of still feel like we just moved in.

GOD IS GREAT!!! ALL the time!!! YES HE IS!!! 

My very first kiss suggested a blog topic for me today. For your nosiness: We were in the 4th grade and it took place in a tree. His suggestion was, that I blog about myself from past to present.

Well, strangely before receiving his suggestion, I was considering all the places I've lived up until now. My very first apartment was located in Hawthorne, California. I was 18-years old and I allowed my cousin to live with me towards the end of my 1-year lease. From there, I wanted to do BIG "things" and applied for a  2-bedroom, 1 1/2 bath (with sauna indoors) apartment in Hollywood.  I was approved to move there.

On the morning that we were to move-in, I decided that I had made a mistake and wanted to opt-out of the rental agreement. For some reason it felt like I was about to endanger us by moving in that upscale apartment nor was I financially suited to comfortably handle the expected overhead. I ended up losing half of the move-in money behind "this" decision. My cousin had to find somewhere to live and I moved back home with my mother to regroup for while.

The next place I moved into was a rear bachelor home. Would you believe it was the childhood home of hip-hop superstar,  "The Game"? His mother was a former employer of mine who was kind enough to allow me to rent from her. He was a teenager at the time and I barely ever saw him at home, but I did drive his Peugeot a few times with his mother's permission.

I then moved to Lancaster, California with my first love from high school. We shared a 2-bedroom, 1 bath home, but I was hardly ever there. I couldn't stay away from Los Angeles and after a short while, I realized that it was better for me to move back to the "big city" so I did.